Blast from the Past
by Beloved Pearl
Summary: On the third anniversary of the Raccoon City tragedy Claire receives some news, leading her to a showdown with an old enemy whilst fighting her own feelings. But will it end with rainbows and butterflies or a heartcrushing defeat?
1. Memories

Hey there! This is my first fan-fic, I really don't have a clue where I'm going to take this story but I'll try my best with it and I hope you enjoy it! =D

Also I don't own any Resident Evil characters, unfortunately they all belong to Capcom =(.

Chapter 1 - Memories

September 28th 2001

"_Three years. Three years since the Raccoon City tragedy. Three years since I escaped by the skin of my teeth…and three years since I've seen Sherry and Leon… I wonder where they are now."_

Claire was pondering this whilst sat at her desk at work, paperwork piled high in front of her, Terrasave had offered Claire a job straight after she got back from the Antarctic with Chris; she'd snatched it up in a hope of making a difference to the people hurt by Umbrella and their viruses. As she waded her way through pile after pile she'd started to think of Leon and Sherry and what their lives would be like now, what they looked like, were they happy, all that sort of stuff. After Raccoon City they'd gone their separate ways; Claire to find her brother Chris in Europe and Leon took Sherry into his care until the government found them and took her away from him. Claire had heard Leon had made a deal with the agents to keep Sherry safe; they knew he was experienced and wanted his services, if he helped them they would make sure Sherry went to a happy family and lived a normal life…well as normal as could be after what that poor child had been through. Claire hadn't heard from Leon since she contacted him from Rockford Island for help, he was unable to leave his government training so he tracked down Chris and explained Claire's predicament, ultimately reuniting him with his sister. Claire was grateful to Leon for that. The lack of contact was not for lack of trying, she'd often left emails and texts for Leon but got no reply, this upset her but she just put it down to Leon living his own life and forgetting about his past, including Claire.

Claire glanced at the clock and realised it was five to five; she'd lost track of time and would be finished work in five minutes. She gathered her things up and headed for the door, grabbing her coat as she walked out. As Claire walked down the corridor she spotted Chris sat in the waiting area by the receptionist.

"Hey Chris! What're you doing here?"

Chris looked nervous and stood up, "Claire, I've got something to tell you, Leon's been in touch with me and he's quitting his job as a government agent."

Claire looked shocked then confusion kicked in, "You came to my work just to tell me that? Couldn't it have waited till I got home?"

"There's something else I need to tell you, he's moving from Washington D.C to New York...today."

Claire stood there dumbfounded for a couple of seconds, '_Leon was moving here? But why?'_

I know this is a short chapter but I just want to know what you guys think of it already before I carry on. I'm always open to criticism, good or bad, but please don't be mean! =)


	2. Coming Home

Thank you to those people who reviewed my first chapter, I'm glad you liked it =) I'll start making my chapters longer now I've had some feedback!

Also I don't own any Resident Evil characters, unfortunately they all belong to Capcom =(.

Chapter 2 – Coming Home

September 25thth 2001

Leon was about to wear a hole into his shiny laminate flooring he'd been pacing around for that long. He'd been contemplating quitting his job for five days now, ever since he'd received some information from an informant outside of the government, the information had shocked him, the shock then turned to anger. Leon knew what he had to do and wasn't going to let anyone stop him. He walked to the bathroom and splashed water on his face, he looked at his reflection in the mirror and grimaced, he hadn't been getting much sleep lately and the dark circles under his eyes made it plain to see. He dried his face and started walking back to the bedroom, as he walked past the kitchen something caught his eye, it was a picture stuck to his fridge; of Sherry on a beach, she looked happy, Leon's thoughts then drifted to something else, Wesker. Leon could feel the anger boiling up inside of him, _'how dare Wesker try to ruin this young girl's life again._' Leon walked to his bedroom and began to undress, he flopped onto his bed and checked his Killer 7 was under his pillow fully loaded, his eyes began to flutter shut; he was more tired than he realised. Just before he drifted off to sleep he muttered "I'm coming for you Sherry".

*BEEP BEEP! BEEP BEEP! BEEP *SMACK!** Leon's alarm abruptly stopped making that deafeningly loud noise, Leon groaned and rolled over, 7:00A.M his alarm read. He kicked his covers off and practically fell out of bed, he was still so tired; he put it down to stress. He strolled down the hallway to his bathroom and turned the shower on, kicking off his boxers he stepped into the hot water. He stood there for about five minutes just letting it run down his back, it was soothing he thought. After twenty minutes in the bathroom he walked back to his bedroom and picked out an outfit; grey fitted boxers, dark grey fitted military shirt, black combat trousers and black combat boots. His wardrobe consisted of mainly dark colours he mused,

*Hmph* _"_Fits my mood I guess_"_ Leon huffed.

After downing a quick coffee Leon locked up and went to his car, it was a black Aston Martin DB9, '_just one of the perks of the job'_ Leon thought to himself as he slid inside and drove to work. He arrived after twenty five minutes; it should have been roughly forty but Leon never was one for sticking to the speed limits. After parking up Leon marched straight to his superior's office on the top floor and stormed straight in, his boss just looked up at him.

"I've been thinking about what you said Sir and I'm sorry but I have to do this, she needs me and if you aren't going to help me find her and bring her back then I'll just have to go find her myself. You swore that if I agreed to work with you you'd keep her safe; you broke your end of the deal so I am too. I'm not prepared to discuss this anymore; I'm handing in my resignation, effective immediately."

Leon's boss still didn't attempt to speak or make any movement, he just stared at Leon. Leon could feel himself starting to feel nervous but he kept his game face on and didn't show any weakness.

"Very well Agent Kennedy, but just so you know, we will not provide any back up or support for you throughout this ordeal, you're on your own. Now leave."

Leon breathed a sigh of relief, '_that was easier than i thought it was going to be'_ and turned on his heel marching towards the door, he was just about to close it when his superior spoke up.

"Oh and Kennedy?"

Leon froze, damn he'd spoke too soon.

"Yes sir?"

"Good Luck."

Leon grinned to himself, "Thank you Sir", and walked away.

As Leon was leaving his office building he pulled out his phone and scrolled down his contact list till he found who he was looking for, he pressed dial and waited for an answer.

"Hello?" Came a gruff reply.

"Hey there Redfield, long time no speak."

"Rookie is that you?"

Leon laughed at this statement and replied, "Yea it's me, look I have something to tell you…I've quit my job and I'm moving to New York, I don't have much time to explain but I'll be there in about 3 days, I'll tell you everything when I get there…and Chris?"

"Yea?"

"Don't tell Claire, I'd like to see her in person."

Chris was about to object when Leon said "Please Chris, just don't. I'll see you in a few days, bye."

With that Leon hung up and walked to his car, he decided he was going to have to take the three hours or so drive to New York to find a place to live and fast. As Leon was driving; way too fast by the way and at this rate it would only take two hours to get to New York, his mind drifted to Claire, why had he not bothered to reply to her emails and texts? He was mentally kicking himself for being so selfish when a sudden realisation hit him, he'd treat her that way to keep her safe. Being around him with such a dangerous job wasn't what Claire needed in her life; if people knew he cared for her they could have used her against him. Even so, he had some serious grovelling to do when he saw Claire and decided to prepare himself for the ass-kicking the older, much more butch Redfield sibling was going to give him for treating his baby sister so bad. Leon just hoped he could talk them round to see things from his perspective; after all he was going to need their help very soon.


	3. Reunited

Thank you for the reviews people =)

Also I don't own any Resident Evil characters, unfortunately they all belong to Capcom =(.

Chapter 3 – Reunited

September 28th 2001

It was seven o'clock and Claire was back at home preparing tea when her phone rang, she had a feeling about who it was before she even answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey Claire it's only me, just checking you're okay. Do you want me to come over and keep you company for a bit? Jill's out shopping so it's really not a problem."

"Chris, for the last time, I. AM. FINE."

This was the third time Chris had rang her since she got home and she'd only been in just over an hour. Claire's patience was wearing thin.

"Okay, okay! No need to get stroppy I'm just worried about you that's all. I mean you have to admit it is quite a shock that Leon is suddenly coming back after so long."

Claire sighed, "Look I'm sorry Chris, I'm just not in the best of moods right now, but I'll be fine, stop worrying. I have to go now, my chips are gonna burn, see you soon, love you." Claire waited for a reply and hung up.

She'd just been about to attend to her chips when there was a knock at the door.

'_Whoever this is is gonna pay for making me burn my chips' _Claire thought whilst heading towards the front door.

But as she opened the door all thoughts of her chips evaporated.

"Leon?"

"Surprise?" Leon replied with a weak smile.

Claire couldn't believe he was actually here, on her front doorstep, the real deal. Her feelings were soon replaced with anger though as she slammed the door in his face.

"Claire, come on!" Leon whined through the wood.

"Go away! You lost any right to speak to me the moment you decided to ignore me completely!"

Leon sighed and ran a hand through his hair, he needed to think of a valid way to explain himself, he figured the only way to do that would to be honest.

"Claire, I'm so sorry it's been so long since we spoke, I thought it was for the best, to keep you safe. I lead a dangerous life Claire and I didn't want you to get caught up in all that." Leon paused, he felt pretty stupid for talking to a door, and he was also attracting strange looks from the neighbours. "I have something important to tell you, I know you'll wanna hear it. Please let me in?" Leon closed his eyes and prayed she'd let him in.

"_What are you doing letting him get to you still after so long? Pull yourself together girl_." Claire was stood with her back to the door contemplating throwing a bucket of water or some eggs at Leon out of the upstairs window when he suddenly spoke again.

"Claire, it's about Sherry."

Claire's mind grinded to a halt. _"Did he just say Sherry?"_

Leon was still waiting for a reply when he heard the door opening. He looked to Claire who had a look of shock etched across her face.

"Now can I come in?"

I know this chapter is short but I wanted to finish it like this cause I think it's rather fitting =). I'm currently working on the next chapter though!


	4. Revelations

Chapter 4 – Revelations

As Claire pottered around in her kitchen making coffee; and binning her burnt chips, she could feel Leon's eyes burning into her back, analysing her every move.

"You know it's rude to stare." She stated whilst still having her back to Leon.

Leon blushed profusely, "Sorry, it's just it's been a while since I saw you, you haven't changed one bit."

"Is that a good or a bad thing?" Claire replied.

"It's a good thing." _'Definitely a good thing' _he thought to himself. Leon couldn't help but admire how Claire had kept in shape the past 3 years but hadn't lost any of her femininity; she was still the curvaceous Claire he used to know. Leon had to stop himself from staring at her behind for too long, his eyes snapped back up just as Claire turned around and walked back over to the living area. She handed Leon his mug of coffee, their fingertips brushing slightly as she did. Claire blushed and looked away hoping Leon wouldn't notice, she quickly spoke to divert their attention.

"I knew you were coming you know."

Leon chuckled to himself. "I knew Redfield wouldn't keep his mouth shut. But to be honest Claire you looked pretty surprised when you saw me."

"Just caught me off guard I guess." She answered nonchalantly, all the while thinking _'well I knew you were coming but I didn't expect you to look so damn hot!' _She then realised Leon was staring at her with a confused look on his face.

"Err…Claire? You okay? You kinda glazed over for a second there."

'_Shit, rumbled.' _Claire cleared her throat before speaking, "Err..yes I'm fine…so, what's this news about Sherry? Is she alright?"

Leon paused and looked down at his coffee, he'd been dreading the moment he had to tell Claire this and he just hoped she wouldn't hate him too much. _'Here goes nothing.' _He spoke without lifting his eyes from his mug.

"Sherry's gone Claire."

He waited for a reply but there was only silence. He looked up and could see Claire staring at him intently.

"Gone? What do you mean gone?

"I mean she's missing Claire."

Claire dropped her mug, tears forming in her eyes within seconds, suddenly she stood up.

"What happened! You said she'd be safe!" She cried.

Leon couldn't bear to look at Claire, he'd promised her Sherry would be safe, he'd given up his life to keep her as safe as possible, he'd even given up Claire to keep her safe from his work.

"It was all for nothing." Was all Leon could bring himself to say.

"What do you mean all for nothing! Leon, stop talking in riddles and spit it out!" By this point Claire had tears streaming down her face, her fists were clenched and she looked ready to punch Leon in the face at any moment. _'I suppose I deserve that.'_ Leon mused to himself, he took a deep breath and spoke.

"I returned from a mission in South America just over a week ago, when I got back to my apartment I'd received an email from a reliable source in the government and good friend of mine. The email contained a photograph of Sherry; it looked like she was in some form of stasis tube. There was some information with the photo, it claimed that Sherry had gone missing two weeks ago on her way home from school in California and nobody had seen her since. My source said he'd managed to do some digging around after he'd seen her photo lying around the office where he works and he knew I'd want to know as I was completely oblivious to all this cause I was on a mission at the time." Leon was interrupted by Claire.

"Get to the point Leon!" Her anger still not subsiding.

Leon sighed and rubbed his eyes with his thumbs; Claire made a mental note that he looked exhausted.

"Claire, my source discovered that Sherry is being held captive by none other than Albert Wesker."

Claire stopped breathing. _'Wesker? It can't be.' _She managed to snap herself out of it and focused on Leon who was looked at her wearily. She slumped back into her seat, tears stopping almost as soon as she heard Wesker's name.

"I'm so sorry Claire, I broke my promise but I honestly thought she would be safe. The government swore to me that she'd be kept safe if I helped them and they went back on their word. That's why I'm here now, jobless and begging for your forgiveness."

Claire glanced up at Leon, _'he looks so lost and distraught, how can I stay angry at him? It wasn't even his fault.'_

"It's okay Leon, I know it wasn't your fault, I'm sorry I snapped at you."

Leon let out a long breath he'd forgot he'd been holding from the anticipation of hearing her answer.

"Thanks. It doesn't make me feel any better though. I still feel I could have done more to help her and keep her out of harm's way."

"Leon, you were given orders to leave her alone and do your job, it was entirely the government's fault, not yours." Claire paused for a moment before realising something. "Leon, Chris told me you resigned from your job, why?"

Leon glanced back down at his coffee, it had a gone cold whilst they'd been talking; it was faring better than Claire's though, hers was still spilt all over her laminate flooring and she showed no signs of attempting to clean it up.

"You shouldn't leave that to soak in for too long, it'll rot the wood."

Claire looked at the coffee and then back at Leon, "Leon don't change the subject, why did you quit your job?"

'_Cause I wanted…no, needed, to see you again and it just happened that this was the perfect opportunity' _was the one thought that ran through his mind. He knew the reason should have been solely about Sherry but he just couldn't help himself. This was Claire Redfield, the girl he had admired from afar since that fateful day in Raccoon City, he then realised that's the only way he was ever going to get to admire Claire Redfield, from afar. '_She'd never go for a guy like me, especially since I can't even keep the one promise I've ever made her, she deserves better_.' Leon sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that time then spoke.

"I quit because my superior wouldn't support my "vigilante mission" as he called it. He said the police were dealing with it and I should just focus on my own job instead of trying to do his. He also said it wasn't their fault that Sherry was allowed to be taken by Wesker, he overpowered the security agents that were keeping an eye on her and just took off with her before they could react."

Claire butt in. "All the more reason to look for the government to look for her I say, this was their mistake by not being prepared for something like this."

"Exactly, that's what I said." Leon carried on.

They stayed silent for a couple of minutes, letting everything that had just been said sink in. Claire was the first to break the silence.

"That still doesn't explain why you quit your job and came back."

Leon snapped out of his daze. "Huh?...Oh yea. Well because he wouldn't support my ideas I decided I'd quit, seeing as though they'd broken their end of the deal I felt I was allowed to also. I came to the conclusion that if I wanted to find Sherry, I was gonna have to do it myself. So here I am, asking for you, Chris and Jill to help me, I can't do this on my own, but I completely understand if you say no."

Claire sighed inwardly, she'd been secretly hoping he'd come back to sweep her off her feet and say how much he'd missed her. She'd always had a soft spot for the ex-rookie cop since he'd saved her life back at the diner in Raccoon City. She felt selfish for thinking this while he was asking her to help him find Sherry, she loved that little girl like her own…correction; teenage girl like her own, she was almost a woman now, but Claire had also come to realise something else, maybe it wasn't just Sherry she loved, _'do I love Leon?'_ This thought shocked even Claire herself, sure she'd always thought he was handsome with his boyish looks, and he had a personality that could charm the birds off the trees to boot, but did her feelings for him actually run that deep? Her thoughts abruptly came to an end when Leon waved a hand in front of her face.

"Hellooo? Anyone home?"

Claire swatted his hand away whilst he chuckled to himself, "you keep glazing over, are you sure you're okay?" Claire looked at his face, he genuinely looked concerned, and this made her heart melt even more.

"Yeah I'm fine, just thinking." She offered him a small smile.

Leon almost swooned right there and then, this was the first time he'd seen Claire smile in three years, _'she's beautiful.' _He then cleared and throat and spoke.

"So, what do you say? You up for a good old fashioned rescue mission?" he said trying to lighten the mood.

Claire grinned and looked Leon in the eyes. "Since when was Claire Redfield ever not willing to dive head first into danger to save someone she loves?"

Leon smiled at this and nodded his head.

"Well I better go, it's getting late and I have to unpack and everything. Would you be able to ask Chris about helping out? I mean I would do it, but knowing Chris he'll probably smack me as soon as he sees me for ignoring your calls. You might actually get somewhere with him."

"Yea I know what you mean, he tends to act first and think later the big goon. Yea sure I'll ask him for you, I know he'll be up for it though."

With that, Leon stood up and stretched. Claire couldn't help but stare, he had changed so much in three years. That government training had really made him beef up. She caught a glimpse of his abs as his t-shirt lifted up; they were perfect. Her eyes were just about to wander downwards when he stopped stretching and picked up his jacket. She snapped back to reality and blushed a deep crimson colour. She quickly jumped up and headed for the door to let him out. As he was walking past he stopped in front of her.

"It's really good to see you Claire."

"It's good to see you too. At one point I actually thought you were dead you know. Silly really considering what a tough cookie you are." Leon grinned at Claire's comment before enveloping her in a massive hug. Claire was dumbstruck at first but as she felt his strong, muscular arms around her, she melted into his hug. They stood there for what seemed like hours just holding each other, both of them thinking how much they'd missed the other, and both of them wondering how deep their feelings went for each other.

Leon was the first to break the hug, as reluctant as he was to do it, he didn't want Claire thinking he was coming onto her at a time like this. He was almost certain she didn't feel the same way. Leon stepped back and gave Claire a smile before walking away.

Claire sighed, closed her eyes and leaned against the closed the door behind her, she was grateful to have Leon back in her life after so long; she just wished it was under different circumstances. She then headed towards the phone and dialled Chris's number.

"Hello?"

"Hey Chris it's me…Leon came by earlier and before you bust a blood vessel he had some important news to tell me, is it okay for you and Jill to come over? I know it's late but it's pretty urgent."

"Sure, we'll be right over, see you soon."

Claire hung up and sat on the sofa, this was gonna be a long night.


	5. A Helping Hand

Chapter 5 – A Helping Hand

"Wow. Guess he's not dead then." Chris murmured whilst stuffing his face with his third banana. Claire had just filled him and Jill in on the situation. Jill still appeared to be in shock.

Claire slapped him across the back of the head. "Stop eating all my food you greedy pig!"

"Hey, this is compensation for you wanting us to help you out…Plus I'm starving." Chris shot back.

Claire looked at Jill, she couldn't be sure what the older woman was thinking but she had a feeling she'd be on her side, after all Jill thought of her like she thought of Sherry, Jill would do the same if it was Claire being held captive. "What do you think Jill?"

Jill looked up at Claire and grinned. "I think we better get ourselves prepared for a showdown. We cannot allow Wesker to do this, we've worked too hard to stop him, we can't back down now, plus Sherry needs us."

Claire practically leapt at Jill and wrapped her arms round her. "Oh thank you so much!" Claire broke off the hug and turned back to Chris; who was eating yet another banana, "And what about you Chris?"

Chris glanced up from his banana to look at Claire. "Do you even have to ask me that? Of course I'm in!" Banana sprayed from his mouth all over Claire and Jill. Chris grinned a goofy smile, "Err...Oops?"

Claire's glare was immediately cut short when her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey Claire, it's just me. I'm sorry to call you so late."

"Hey Leon, I've just explained the situation to Chris and Jill and they're up for it. Thunderbirds are go!"

Chris burst out laughing, spitting banana everywhere. Claire could hear Leon chuckling on the end of the phone as she snapped round and told Chris to clean it up now. As Chris trudged off into the kitchen to find a cloth, Leon spoke.

"Erm…Claire? I kinda have another favour to ask."

Claire brought her attention back to Leon. "Yeah what is it?"

"It's about my apartment. When I got home to start unpacking there was a puddle on my kitchen floor, I thought it was just some spilt water or something until I heard a crack. I looked up and suddenly my neighbour's bath fell into my kitchen! The dumbass had left his tap running and it flooded. So now my apartment is deemed unfit to live in until repairs have been made…I was wondered if I could crash at yours for a few nights till it's done?...I know it's a lot to ask but.."

Leon was interrupted by Claire. "Sure thing. Just don't eat all my bananas." She glared at Chris whilst saying this. Leon was a bit confused but decided not to question it.

"Oh thanks Claire, you're a lifesaver. I'll be over in about an hour after I've packed some things, see ya." With that Leon hung up.

Claire put the phone down and sighed a dreamy sigh.

"What did rookie want?" Chris chirped up with a suspicious look on his face.

"He needs a place to stay for the next few days, there's been an accident at his apartment and he needs to wait till repairs have been made before he can move back in."

"Uh huh, and?"

Claire stared at Chris confused. "What do you mean and?"

"I mean what else does he have in mind? He better not have an ulterior motive or his ass is mine!"

Jill spoke up at this point. "Pipe down, Chris. Of all the men in the world you would want staying with your baby sister, it's Leon S. Kennedy. Just think of how safe she'll be with him in her apartment."

Jill must have proven a point because Chris just grunted and mumbled something unintelligible under his breath. _"Chris is just being silly, no way does Leon think of me like that."_ This thought disappointed Claire; she wanted Leon to want her.

Claire brushed Chris's suspicions off and set off to find clean bed sheets for her spare bedroom. "You guy's should stay a bit longer, it's been ages since we've all been together. Leon will be glad to see you."

Jill smiled and agreed, Chris sighed and nodded. It wasn't that he didn't like Leon, he just didn't trust him and Claire together alone, he had his suspicions that Claire thought of Leon as more than just a friend, he just hoped Leon didn't feel the same way. _"No one is good enough for my baby sister."_ Chris thought to himself.

"I'll be right back, I'm just going to prepare his bed." Claire walked off and left Chris and Jill alone.

"You need to stop being so overprotective of Claire, Chris. I know she's your little sister and you wanna look after her but she's a grown woman now, she's twenty-two and capable of making her own decisions…Besides is Leon really the worst guy you can think of her being with?"

"He's hurt her before, Jill. He ignored her for three years; it was almost like she was grieving for him while he was gone. I just don't want him to waltz back into her life and fuck it up for her again when she's just been starting to move on." Chris was getting agitated at being reminded of his sister being so upset. Jill grabbed his hand and started to run smooth circles over it with her thumb.

"He did it to try and protect her, Chris. I would do anything to keep you out of harm's way too if I was in his position. He's here to make amends and he needs our help, Claire needs our help. So we're gonna do what we do best; all of us together, and give the guy a break…Aren't we?"

Chris looked at Jill, he'd met her whilst he was in S.T.A.R.S she was everything he could have asked for in a woman; beautiful, smart, sensitive and still able to kick someone's ass all the same time. She always knew how to calm him down and make him see sense.

"Yeah I guess you're right, you always know the right thing to say to me Jill, I love you."

"I love you too." Jill said whilst smiling back at him.

Just then there was a knock at the door. Claire came out of the spare room and practically skipped over to the door. _"I can't believe he's actually gonna be living with me!...Okay, calm down Redfield, you're just friends."_ With that thought she opened the door.

Leon was stood with his bag slung over his shoulder; he'd gotten changed since a few hours before. Claire noticed he had a tight fitting black t-shirt on that clung to every muscle in all the right places; it really showed off his biceps and broad shoulders. His faded blue jeans made his ass look like it was sculpted by the Gods themselves. It was only when Leon had been stood at the door for at least a minute waiting to be invited in, that she noticed she was almost drooling.

"Uhh…Come in! Make yourself at home."

As Leon walked past he kicked his boots off and smiled gratefully at Claire. _"What were you thinking Redfield! Now he probably thinks you're some kind of freak; staring at his arms and ass like that!...But his ass..It's so perfect…Wait, shut up!" _Claire snapped out of her thoughts when she noticed Jill smiling knowingly at her. Claire quickly composed herself and followed Leon into the living area.

"Redfield, Jill! It's been too long! Claire told me you were willing to help out and I'm so grateful." Jill greeted Leon with a hug and smile, Chris simply shook his hand.

Jill was the first to speak. It's alright Leon, we're happy to help. How've you been anyway?"

"Busy; very busy. Who knew saving the world would be such hard work." Leon chuckled to himself.

"So Rookie, how long are you gonna be staying here for?" Chris asked Leon suddenly, suspicion laced his voice.

"Just till my apartment is repaired, should only be a few days." Leon could tell straight away that Chris wasn't happy with this arrangement. Jill quickly jumped in before Chris's overprotectiveness got the better of him.

"Well we better get going, it's really late and we both have work tomorrow. It's been really nice to see you Leon, we'll see you tomorrow night and we can start making arrangements for the mission." Jill hugged Leon again and gestured for Chris to do the same. As Chris hugged Leon he slapped him on the back, perhaps a little more forceful than he meant to and whispered in his ear whilst Jill and Claire were saying goodbye to each other.

"I'll have my eye on you Romeo, just keeps those hands to yourself."

Leon blushed and gave Chris a weak smile. "You don't have to worry about that." _"I'm pretty sure Claire would castrate me herself if I tried anything with her." _He thought to himself_._

As soon as Chris and Jill had left, Claire turned to Leon and started walking past him.

"Right, well I'll show you to your room and I'll better be getting off to bed myself, it's been a long day and I need my beauty sleep."

"Don't be daft Red, you're beautiful enough as it is." Leon froze. _"Did I just say that out loud?"_ He looked at Claire to see her madly blushing.

He quickly tried to backtrack himself. "I mean it's not like I'm hitting on you or anything, I just..."

Claire butt in. "It's okay, Leon. I know what you mean." She smiled at him.

Leon smiled back and after a few moments of awkward silence he spoke up. "Well I'd better be going to bed; I'll see you in the morning." And he quickly rushed into his room.

"_Real smooth Kennedy, now she's gonna think you're hitting on her."_ Leon sighed and fell onto his bed. He took a moment to take in his surroundings; the room was nice, quite spacious and had cream coloured walls with chocolate bed sheets. The furniture was pine; a was wardrobe against the left wall, a chest of drawers to the right and the bed was under the window directly from the door with a little beside table next to it with a lamp on. It was simple but had a homely vibe to it.

Leon suddenly began to feel tired and decided to quickly undress before he fell asleep with his clothes on. Before he knew it he was drifting off to sleep with only one image in his mind; Claire's blushing face.

Claire had pretty much walked in a daze to her bedroom, she was still slightly stunned that Leon had called her beautiful, but also slightly disappointed that he'd said he wasn't trying to hit on her, damn if he knew how much she wanted him to try it on with her. Claire undressed sleepily and tossed her clothes in the wash basket in her room. As she climbed into bed she smiled and muttered to herself. "Ah well, a girl can always dream." She too then drifted off into a deep sleep, eagerly anticipating waking up to Leon in the morning.


	6. Unexpected Wake Up Call

Thank you everyone for the reviews on this story =)

Again, I still don't own any of the characters in this story (much to my dismay), they belong to Capcom.

Chapter 6 – Unexpected Wake Up Call.

Leon woke up to the sound of birds singing and the sun peeking through his blinds. He stretched and looked around the room remembering the night before. _"Don't be daft Red; you're beautiful enough as it is." _Leon slapped his hands over his face and cringed.

"Did I really have to go and say that?"

Leon decided today was a new day and he was just going to try and forget what he had said to Claire, he only hoped she had too. He looked to the clock and saw it was only ten to six; Claire surely wouldn't be up this early so he thought he'd chance sneaking to the bathroom in his tight grey boxers, it was only down the hallway after all; in between his and Claire's room. He swung his legs off the bed and stood up, rearranging his boxers as he did and set off for the door. Meanwhile…

Claire stepped out the shower and grabbed her towel from the railing, wrapping it around herself. She wiped the steamy mirror with her hand and proceeded to brush her teeth whilst looking at reflection. _"Ten to six and I'm up and showered already. Damn dreams making me toss and turn all night…I blame you Leon, you shouldn't be so damn sexy…" _She finished brushing her teeth and tossed her long red hair over her shoulder before turning round and opening the door, she'd just stepped outside when she crashed into something hard and muscular and fell onto the floor.

"OW!" Two voices cried in unison.

Claire looked up from her spot on the floor to see Leon holding his head from where he'd bumped into her. She looked him up and down and noticed he was only wearing his boxers…his very tight boxers to be exact. She couldn't help but take a few seconds to check him out from head to toe while he was temporarily dazed; his hair was all messy and ruffled with his bangs falling just over his eyes, his shoulders were broad and muscular leading down to two very impressive biceps. Her eyes wandered lower, down his perfectly formed pecks and six-pack and towards his boxers. Claire began blushing at seeing Leon so exposed so she quickly skimmed over his boxers towards his long, lean legs.

"So sexy…" Was all that escaped Claire's lips.

Leon looked down and saw Claire on the floor in a heap. He quickly bent down to offer her his hand.

"Oh god, Claire I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were in there. Did you say something?"

Claire panicked. "Uh...I said so sorry, I didn't expect to bump into you so early."

Claire took Leon's hand and slowly stood up regaining her balance. Their eyes met briefly when their hands separated. Leon suddenly noticed their lack of clothing and began to feel uncomfortable, his eyes darted around the room looking at everything but Claire and he swiftly placed his hands in front of his crotch. Claire on the other hand was still checking Leon out unable to tear her eyes away from his perfectly cut body. She noticed she was beginning to stare and looked to the floor; noticing her bare feet her eyes trailed up her body and she realised she was only wearing a towel. She suddenly felt exposed too and the silence between the two friends was becoming uncomfortable so she spoke.

"I couldn't sleep so I decided to just get up and take a shower. What are you doing up so early?"

Leon answered whilst taking particular interest in the lilac wallpaper that covered Claire's hallway walls. "I just woke up early and thought it would be safe to sneak to the bathroom before you woke up too...If I'd have known you'd be up I'd have totally put some clothes on, I'm sorry."

Claire noticed how uncomfortable Leon looked and decided to head back to her room to save themselves anymore embarrassment.

"I'm gonna go get dressed." _"Don't feel like you have to do the same."_

Leon nodded and stepped aside to let her pass. He couldn't help but watch as she walked away; her long hair dripping down the pale skin of her back; he'd never seen her with her hair down before and he liked it, her bum wiggling slightly when she walked as she disappeared into her bedroom quietly shutting the door behind her. _"Damn, she's hot." _Leon groaned when he suddenly felt a familiar feeling growing in his groin area; he mentally slapped himself for letting himself be turned on by one of his best friends as he strolled into the bathroom. "Guess it's a cold shower for me then…"

Claire stepped into her room and shut the door behind her, leaning heavily against the door she sighed to herself. _"I've just seen Leon in his boxers. Leon S. Kennedy in his extremely tight boxers." _She snapped out of it and scolded herself for checking him out. _"He's your friend, Claire. He's came here asking for your help and you start perving on him, what a good friend you are. Plus he seemed like he couldn't wait to get away from you, you need to stop dreaming." _ She took a deep breath and sighed clearing her head. _"Right, now to get ready for work."_

Leon was stood under the shower head letting the hot water cascade down his back as he tried to clear his head of thoughts of a semi-naked Claire; he wasn't doing a very good job of it. _"Her hair looks so sexy wet and down…And her legs are so slender but strong looking at the same time…" _

"Urgh…She's gonna be the death of me."

Leon jumped when someone knocked on the door and spoke; it was Claire's voice.

"Hey, Leon?"

"Yeah?"

"Sorry to disturb you but I think I've left my make-up bag in the bathroom, I don't suppose you could pass it out to me could you?"

Leon glanced around the room till he spotted a red bag, he assumed it was the make-up bag and stepped out of the shower picking it up as he swiftly wrapped a towel round his waist. He unlocked the door and opened it slightly. Claire was dressed now; Leon couldn't help but feel disappointed, she was wearing black skinny jeans with black knee high heeled boots; the boots made her look a fair bit taller, not that she needed it as she was already 5'10 to begin with, the green silky blouse she was wearing accentuated her curves nicely and went with her red hair perfectly. Leon noticed he'd begun to stare and quickly passed Claire the bag. She took it, smiled and walked away. Leon closed the door and leaned his head against it. _"Since when was Claire all I thought of? Sure I liked her before but now it's like she's plaguing my mind. This is getting awkward. Maybe a jog will help clear my head." _Leon turned off the shower, brushed his teeth and opened the bathroom door, checking if Claire was around before running back to his room.

"_Does he even realise how hot he is? It should be a crime!...Oh god that body, that wet hair hanging around his gorgeous blue eyes…oh those eyes! I could just get lost in them…Claire! Stop it!" _Claire forced herself to focus on her make-up. She flicked some black mascara across her lashes and applied a thin layer of pink lip gloss before standing up and picking her bag up from under her dressing table, she glanced at the clock on the bedside table as she did and saw it was seven o'clock and turned to walk out of her bedroom. She walked down the hallway leading to the lounge passing Leon's bedroom as she did, his door was ajar and she caught a glimpse of him through the gap. Leon was whistling a tune to himself whilst pulling on a pair of black joggers; he then pulled a white wife beater vest over his head and sat down on the edge of his bed whilst he proceeded to put a pair of socks on. Claire couldn't stop herself from staring, even the smallest thing he did like pulling a pair of trousers on amazed her, the way his muscles flexed in his back and arms. Then unexpectantly he looked Claire straight in the eye.

"Uhh…I was just coming to tell you I'm setting off for work now and to ask if you want to get a take-away tonight too seeing as though Chris and Jill are coming over?"

"Yeah, sure. I'm gonna go for a jog now as well so I'll walk you down to your car."

Claire smiled and nodded. _"God, please say he doesn't know how long I was staring at him for."_

Leon grabbed his iPod and phone and placed them in his pockets before strapping a Glock to his ankle under his joggers. He looked to Claire and smiled.

"Ready to go?"

Claire nodded and they went out the door, locking it as they went and heading down to the lobby. As they were walking towards the entrance the young, pretty receptionist spotted Leon and gave him a sweet smile. Claire felt the anger boiling up inside of her and glared daggers at the woman. Leon didn't seem to notice the receptionist or Claire glaring at her, he just carried on walking; seemingly in a daze. _"Was she staring at me? Or am I just imagining it?...Nahh, Claire wouldn't do something that obvious."_

"Well here we are."

Leon snapped back to reality and saw Claire smiling at him. He looked at the car she was stood next to and grinned to himself.

"What's so funny Kennedy?"

"I just never saw you as an Audi TT sorta gal, Red."

"And why not?"

"I never thought you were into flash cars, just bikes. I half expected you to own a beat up old mini."

Claire chuckled. _"God I love that laugh." _Leon thought to himself.

"I may be a bike lover at heart but I do appreciate a nice car…Anyway Terrasave pays good money, I may as well make the most of it. Well I gotta go; I don't wanna get caught in the rush hour traffic. I'll see you tonight."

Claire instinctively wrapped her arms around Leon's neck in a warm embrace. Leon froze for a second with shock before giving in to her touch. They hugged for a few moments and then Claire pulled away; she smiled shyly at him and got in her car. Before she could drive away Leon knocked on her window and she wound it down.

"Uhh…About this morning, Claire. I am truly sorry, I honestly didn't think you'd be up that early. I promise to wear clothes when I wander around the house from now on."

Claire laughed before answering. "Don't feel like you have to on my behalf." And she playfully winked at him before pulling away and joining the rest of the traffic. "_Was that too bold?...Maybe I should've kept my mouth shut…Oh well, he can take it however he likes, it's done now."_

Leon stood there frozen at the side of the road for a moment trying to comprehend what Claire had just said to him. _"Did Claire just flirt with me?" _Leon grinned a toothy grin to himself and felt butterflies flutter in his stomach. _"There may be hope after all." _And he set off on his jog.


	7. Forbidden Kisses

I know this flirting and stuff may be taking a while to kick in but I think a good romance brews slowly and doesn't just happen overnight. Thank you for the reviews =)

Chapter 7 – Forbidden Kisses

It was six o'clock on a Friday night and Claire had just finished work, as she dragged her aching feet up the third set of stairs leading to her fifth floor apartment she started wondering why she never took the elevator. She finally reached her floor and strolled down the hallway to her apartment door, digging around in her bag for her keys as she walked.

"Hey."

Claire looked up as she stepped through the door and saw Leon sat on the sofa with papers strewn out in front of him all over the coffee table.

"Oh hey, didn't notice you there." She replied.

Leon looked over to Claire and analysed her expression.

"Long day?"

"Very." Came Claire's bored reply.

"Well you'll be happy to know I already arranged everything tonight for us so you don't have to do anything. Chris and Jill are coming over about seven and I thought we could order a chinese; my treat for everything you, Chris and Jill are doing for me."

"You don't have to pay Leon, its fine you're my guest and we want to help you, it's not like you have to persuade us, we all care about Sherry."

"No, no, I insist. It's the least I can do. Take it as a small thank you gift for letting me crash here for a few days too…Oh yeah, my landlord called. He said my apartment should be ready by Monday so I'll be out of your hair by then."

Claire felt a pang of disappointment in her stomach, she didn't want Leon to leave, she liked the thought of having him to wake up to on a morning and she felt safe with him around. She knew this moment would come but she never anticipated how sad she'd feel hearing that he was going to leave soon.

"Oh, that's good news then…Not that I don't like having you around or anything!"

Leon chuckled. "It's fine Claire, after this morning's episode outside the bathroom I bet you'll be glad to see the back of me."

"_If only." _She thought. Claire couldn't help but notice a strange expression on Leon's face, he almost looked sad.

"Are you okay, Leon?"

"Yeah, I'm fine…It's just I kinda enjoy your company and on Monday I'll be going back to a lonely apartment. You'll have to come over and visit sometime."

Claire smiled at this and her stomach did belly flops. _"He enjoys my company."_

"Yeah, sure…I'm just gonna go grab a shower before Chris and Jill arrive. Grab a beer if you like."

"You have none, I already checked. Tell you what while you're in the shower I'll go buy some, can't have a take-away with no beer now can we?"

"Okay, only if you're sure. I'll see you when you get back."

Claire walked into the bathroom and heard the front door open and close behind her. She started undressing and turned on the shower; she stepped in and sighed to herself. _"That feels so good." _After a while her mind began to wander back to the conversation she and Leon had when she got home from work. _"It's just I kinda enjoy your company…"_ Claire smiled to herself. _"So he does feel something for me, even if it doesn't go beyond friendship…But that could always change."_ After washing her hair and scrubbing her body she got out the shower, wrapped a towel around her and brushed her teeth, ran a comb through her hair and opened the bathroom door. She checked around outside for any signs of Leon before running to her bedroom. Once inside she walked over to her underwear draw and searched around inside for something to wear. _"Hmmm…I'll just put these on, it doesn't matter if it doesn't match, it's not like anyone's gonna see it." _She decided on a purple bra and her favourite comfy pink girl boxers with cherries on, before picking out her grey jogging bottoms and a black tank top. She was just about to tie her hair up when she heard the doorbell. She looked at the clock. _"Ten to seven? Chris and Jill must be here already." _Claire walked out of her bedroom, down the hallway towards the lounge where the front door was and opened it.

"Leon?"

"Uhh...Hey. I didn't disturb you did I? I forgot the spare key when I went to the store."

Leon stood in front of Claire with both his arms full of beer.

"I didn't know how much beer we'd need so I went with a lot."

Claire grinned and stepped aside to let him in. Leon set a six pack of beers down on the table and went off to put the rest in the fridge.

"_She's got her hair down again." _Leon thought as he stacked the beers up on the shelf. Claire watched him from the sofa, admiring his muscles once again. When he turned around she quickly looked away and pretended the ends of her hair were extremely interesting.

"Do you want me to ring the chinese with our order now? I know what Chris and Jill always get and they'll be here any minute." She asked without looking away from her hair.

"Yeah, okay. I'll just have the chicken chow mein, extra noodles and a portion of fries. I'll go down and collect it from the shop in a bit, delivery takes too long."

Claire wandered off into her bedroom and rang the chinese. Leaving Leon to clear up his work from the coffee table. Just then the doorbell rang.

"Hey, Leon."

"Hey there, Jill."

"Leon." Chris nodded briskly towards Leon as he walked in.

"Hey, Chris."

"Just take a seat, Claire's in her room ordering our food now. Would you guys like a beer?"

"Yeah, thanks." Replied Jill.

Jill sat on one sofa on one side of the coffee table and Chris sat next to her. Leon could feel Chris glaring at him from across the room as he got the beers from the fridge. He made a mental note to not piss him off, at least until they'd got the mission plan out of the way. He walked back over to the couple and handed them their beers as Claire came out of her room and plonked herself on the other sofa opposite Chris and Jill.

"Hey, you two. It's all ordered Leon, they said it'd be ready in twenty minutes."

Leon nodded and took a seat next to Claire, reminding himself not to sit too close to her.

"I was thinking we could talk about the mission plan over the chinese, I'm going to collect it soon."

As if on cue Chris's stomach rumbled.

"Sounds good to me." He spoke.

"Well I'll be back in about fifteen minutes."

Leon stood up and walked out of the apartment. Claire knew what was coming next.

"So has he tried anything? Has he pissed you off? Do I have to wipe the floor with him yet?..."

Chris was cut short by Claire. "Chris, shut up. He hasn't done anything wrong and I highly doubt he will, just give the poor guy a break will you?"

Chris grumbled and shuffled down in his seat as Jill clipped him round the head.

"We talked about this before we left the house Chris, now stop being so immature."

"I'm just looking out for you, Claire. If he puts one toe out of line I'll make mincemeat out of him." Chris retorted. "Anyway, I'm going to the bathroom."

Chris stomped off to the bathroom and left Claire and Jill alone.

"So, has anything happened between you and Leon then?" Jill smiled slyly.

Claire blushed and started to fidget with her hair again. "No, why would it? We're just friends remember…Anyway, it's not like we see each other in that way."

Jill sighed and folded her arms across her chest. "I'm not stupid you know. Your neanderthal of a brother might not be able to see it but I've seen the way you look at him, and the way he looks at you for that matter. There is a spark there and you know it."

Claire looked up from the piece of hair she was twirling round her finger. "Okay, I'll admit it; I didn't expect him to look so hot all of sudden when he turned up, it kinda triggered some old feelings I had for him. Then he went and called me beautiful and…"

"Wait, he called you beautiful?" Jill butt in.

"Well it wasn't an actual statement of 'I think you are beautiful' but yeah…He did." Claire smiled at the memory.

"Awhhh! That's soo cute! I knew he had the hots for you!" Jill squealed.

"Be quiet Jill! If Chris hears he'll have Leon's guts for garters!" Claire hissed.

"Oops, sorry…I just knew it though. He looks at you so adoringly."

Claire paused. "Really? 'Cause I've always got the impression he just sees me as a friend."

"Urgh, you two are so blind. When are one of you gonna make the first move so the other one knows you feel the same? This isn't high school anymore, you're both mature adults and it's time you realised that, stop being such a chickenshit! If I was you I'd grab Leon while you still can and never let go. He's a great catch you know, you could do a lot worse."

The bathroom door opened before Claire could reply and Chris; still with a face like thunder, stomped back to the sofa and dropped down next to Jill.

"Did I miss anything?"

"Uhh…No, just girl talk." Jill replied with a smile.

"_Bollocks. As if they thought I couldn't hear them in the bathroom, with a gob like Jill's I would have heard that from Mount Everest. Definitely gonna have to keep a closer eye on Kennedy"_

"Hmm…" Was the only reply Chris gave.

The silence was broken by the sound of a key turning in the lock.

"Hey, I'm back. I remembered my key this time." Leon chuckled to himself.

Claire jumped up to grab some knives and forks while Leon set the food out on the table.

"Thanks for this, Leon. It's great." Jill said whilst digging Chris in the ribs with her elbow.

"OW!...Uhh…Yeah, thanks Rookie."

Leon smiled at them both and sat down on the sofa. When Claire came back she sat down next to him and reached for her meal, her arm brushed Leon's as he reached for his too, Claire's cheeks tinted red at the contact and it sent shivers up her spine. Leon felt butterflies in his stomach as they broke contact and his cheeks flushed red too. Jill of course noticed all of this and grinned inwardly to herself and glanced at Chris, who on the other hand was otherwise preoccupied by stuffing his mouth full of noodles till his cheeks looked like a fat hamster's. Jill's grin turned to a grimace. _"Urgh, why can't Chris be more like Leon? Honestly, I can't take him anywhere." _

"So, what's the plan then?" Chris mumbled through his noodles covering Leon and Claire in food. He had a nasty habit of this.

"Chris! Say it don't spray it!" Yelled a rather unimpressed Claire.

Leon just smiled weakly as he flicked a piece of chicken noodle from his shoulder. "I received some information from my contact this afternoon. He was able to do some digging around and discovered that Umbrella's main headquarters are hidden somewhere underneath the Nevada desert. He said getting in wouldn't be easy but he knows that once a week the headquarters gets a delivery of food and sustenance's from some small time company in Las Vegas; that are trying lick Umbrella's ass, to keep the employees alive down there. He also said we could sneak in with the delivery vans and that would be our way in."

"What day do they deliver the food?" Jill asked.

"Monday's, at nine o'clock in the evening so they don't attract any unwanted attention. I can understand if you can't get the time off to do it this…"

"We're in." Claire interrupted. "Sherry is too important to us to keep her hanging around to be rescued. They could be doing anything to her down there."

"Claire's right, Leon. We're gonna do whatever we can, as fast as we can. Aren't we Chris?...Actually Chris, just nod. We don't need to hear your answer."

Chris nodded his head agreeing with his cheeks bulging with noodles as if they were going to burst.

"Right so we'll get the time off work and book our flights for early Monday morning; that should be easy enough right?" Claire stated.

"Yeah, that is pretty easy Claire. The hard part is once we're in there, finding Sherry and getting out alive. No doubt Wesker will be there." Leon said solemnly.

At the mention of Wesker's name Chris started choking on his mouthful of food. Jill patted him on the back understanding that the thought of seeing Wesker again really wound Chris up. He swallowed his food and then spoke.

"Look Leon. Jill, Claire and I have all seen Wesker in action. We know how dangerous he is and how he'll stop at nothing to get what he wants. Don't ever let your guard with him, not even for one second or it might be your last."

Chris stared at Leon for a few moments before nodding and eating his last mouthful of food. Claire and Jill looked at each other confused while Leon stayed quiet, seemingly in shock. It seemed they'd had a breakthrough with Chris and Leon's relationship. _"Was Chris being nice to me? Wow, that's a first. I didn't know he cared." _The awkward silence was broken when Chris stood up and spoke.

"Jill, we better get going. We have a lot to arrange with work and it'll do neither Sherry nor us any good if we aren't prepared for Monday. We'll let ourselves out. See you soon you two."

As Chris dragged Jill out the door, Jill shouted her goodbyes and they were gone.

"I think Chris's breakthrough dented his ego a bit, the embarrassment was just too much for him." Claire giggled.

"Hah, yeah I guess so. Fancy another beer?" Leon replied.

"Shouldn't we be doing the same as them and preparing for Monday?"

"Don't worry I've got it covered. All we have to do is book our flight; I've already arranged the rest with my contact."

"How did you do that if you didn't know we were gonna say yes?" Claire frowned.

Leon gave Claire a small smile and scratched the back of his head embarrassingly. "I guess I was kinda hoping you'd say yes?..." Leon held his breath hoping Claire wouldn't be mad for just assuming.

He breathed a sigh of relief when Claire smiled a big smile. "I guess you thought right then eh, Rookie? And I suppose I will take you up on that offer of a beer after all."

A few hours past with the two old friends reminiscing about Raccoon City and where they would have been now if it wasn't for that catastrophe that brought them together. It got to around midnight when Leon decided he was getting a bit too drunk and thought it would be best he went to bed before he did or said something he might regret. He noticed Claire was also a bit drunk, especially when she decided she was going to redecorate her apartment pink with fluffy walls because it was simply "cool". Leon laughed at Claire and got up to grab the empty chinese boxes. He was stopped when Claire grabbed his left wrist and looked him in the eyes, she suddenly looked serious, he sat back down not taking his eyes off her.

"Leon, what my brother said about Wesker…He really means it. I even know myself how dangerous he is from Rockford Island…I…I hate to think anything bad happened to you while we were rescuing Sherry…I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

Leon couldn't believe what he was hearing. He couldn't tear his eyes away from Claire's ocean blue orbs as they stared at him pleadingly; her red hair wild around her face. _"She does care." _ Before he realised what he was doing he was slowly leaning towards Claire's face, and if he wasn't mistaken Claire was doing the same. They were mere millimetres from each other's lips when he felt Claire's breath run across his bottom lip, it sent shivers down his spine and made the hairs on the back of neck stand up. Leon gently brought his right hand up to cup Claire's cheek and stroked her face with his thumb; her skin was velvety soft underneath is calloused fingers. He felt Claire's hand move to the back of his neck and run her fingers through his hair at the nape of his neck, it felt like his skin was on fire with her touch. Before long their lips were touching, Claire's moist full lips against Leon's surprisingly soft ones. Claire's breath caught in her throat, it felt amazing kissing those lips she'd dreamt of night after night. Claire felt Leon's tongue run across her bottom lip, begging for entrance, she opened her mouth and their tongues collided. Their kiss suddenly deepened and before they knew it they were kissing passionately and furiously. It was like all their pent up sexual frustration was being released into the kiss. Claire's hands moved from the back of Leon's neck and ran down his muscular back; she lifted his t-shirt from the bottom and ran her hands back up his spine. She felt him shiver against her lips and felt his hands move to her sides, running his fingers across the side of her breast and gripping her waist. Claire couldn't contain herself, she climbed onto Leon's lap and grabbed his shirt and yanked it over his head, breaking the passionate kiss for only a few seconds before their lips collided again, their tongues crashing against each other fighting for dominance. She ran her hands over his perfectly formed torso, feeling his nipples harden beneath her fingers. Leon grabbed the hem of Claire's tank top and also pulled that over her head, letting his hands do all the talking, running them over her round, large, pert breasts. He heard Claire moan against his lips and took that as a good sign before reaching round about to unclip her bra…When Leon's phone rang. They broke the kiss reluctantly looking at each other before Claire spoke rather breathlessly.

"You better get that, it might be important."

Leon sighed and reached into his pocket, bringing out the phone before answering.

"Kennedy speaking...Hey Hunnigan…Yeah, I'm going to find Sherry with or without the government's help…Don't worry about me, I've got the help of a few friends who've got experience with this kinda thing…Really?..."

Claire climbed off his lap and collected her top from the floor. _"What just happened? Oh god, I hope he doesn't think I'm easy, a few drinks and I'll sleep with anyone. I better go to bed before this goes way too far." _Leon was still talking on the phone when Claire quietly slipped into her bedroom and shut the door behind her. When he ended the phone call he looked up and noticed she was gone. _"Have I upset her?...Damn, I knew I should of went to bed earlier. Redfield's gonna have my ass."_ Leon sighed, stood up and walked to his room, turning off the lights as he went. Once inside he flopped onto his bed and muttered into his pillow.

"Story of my life."


	8. The Calm After The Storm

I'm really sorry I've took so long to post another chapter of this story but life, exams and writers block got in the way for quite a while but I'm back now and I'll be back to posting new chapters regularly =). Thank you to everyone who's reviewed this story, I really appreciate it =).

Chapter 8 – The Calm After The Storm

Leon and Claire both tossed and turned all night, neither of them feeling tired. Claire was still all flustered at the thought of Leon touching her so intimately; she couldn't shake the feeling of his hands wandering over her body and wondering why it felt so right, yet so wrong. _'What if he thinks I'm easy? I mean a gorgeous guy like that must do this all the time but I don't…Oh god what have we done? If it was just sex he wanted and he obviously didn't get it, will he be weird with me now? This is gonna ruin everything!'_ Claire huffed and puffed and groaned into her pillow at the thought of having to face Leon in the morning. Meanwhile, Leon was doing exactly the same. _'What if she thinks I'm only after one thing? I'd never treat Claire like that. What if she knows I want more than a friendship with her and she doesn't feel the same? Jeez this is gonna be awkward, I bet she hates me right now and that's nothing compared to what Chris is gonna do to me! Shit! Why couldn't I just resist until a more appropriate time, this will probably affect the mission now, totally unprofessional, I need to pull myself together.' _While they both lay there mentally kicking themselves, the sun started to come up and the birds started singing, Leon glanced at the clock and noted it was seven o'clock already. He decided a long run might help clear his head so he got up to get ready. Claire could hear Leon padding about on the laminate flooring and decided to lie there a little longer to pluck up the courage to face him; by the time she finally left her room he was gone. For a split second she panicked and jumped to the conclusion that he'd left for good, she sprinted to his room and sighed in relief when she saw his belongings still scattered around his room, she stood there for a moment before noticing a sticky note stuck to the refrigerator, she walked over and pulled it off. 'Morning Red, just gone for a jog I won't be long, Leon x'. Claire decided since Leon wasn't around at the moment, she'd start getting ready while she didn't have to worry about bumping into him half naked; not that she didn't enjoy it but now was so not the time. After showering and pottering around getting ready at her own pace, she heard the key turn in the lock, she took a deep breath and prepared herself for the oncoming awkward situation.

"Hey, you're up early for a Saturday; I thought I'd make it back before you got up."

"Oh you know me; I like to be up bright and early. I thought we had some flights to book too?"

"I hope you don't mind but I already booked them when I was out jogging this morning, I found your passport in the bread bin funnily enough when I was making some toast so I took the liberty of writing your passport number down. I rang Jill and got her's and Chris's, then Hunnigan booked our flights; she's sticking her neck on the line to help us during the mission, that's what the phone call was about last night. I hope you don't mind but I booked your seat next to mine?" Leon looked hopefully at Claire, praying she wouldn't mind.

"Uhh…I keep it there for safe keeping and I always know where to find it then and no it's fine about the seat, why wouldn't it be?" Claire wished she hadn't said that as soon as the words left her mouth, now was the time for awkwardness to set in.

"Well I was kinda worried you'd be angry at me for last night, I'm sorry if I came across too strong, I was totally out of order and I assure you I won't do it again, it was very unprofessional of me."

It seemed Leon was taking all the blame, but he didn't say he didn't want it to happen. _'Does he regret it? If I actually think about it, I don't regret it. I just wish it wasn't this awkward now.'_

"No, I'm not mad at you, it was my fault too. I just want you to know though I don't do this often, I don't get it on with just anyone after a few drinks, I don't want you thinking I'm easy, and like I said it was my fault too, it takes two to tango."

Leon walked towards Claire and put his hand on her shoulder, Claire could see every bead of sweat running down Leon's strong neck and disappearing under his white vest, it took all her will power to stop herself from pouncing on him right there and then so she forced herself to look into his baby blue eyes.

"Claire, I would never think of you as easy, I know you aren't that kinda girl. We'd both had a bit too much to drink and got carried away, I should have known better. We need to keep focused on the task at hand, Sherry is our priority and we can't let her down because of our silly mistake."

Claire's heart sank at hearing those words. _'Silly mistake? So that's what he thought it was, so he does regret it. I know it shouldn't have happened but I wouldn't have brushed it off as a "silly mistake".' _Claire shrugged Leon's hand off of her shoulder and turned away from him. Leon looked confused at her sudden coldness towards him.

"Right, I agree with you, it shouldn't have happened. Let's just forget about it and move on. I'm going to start packing some things together for the mission; I'll be in my room if you need me."

Claire entered her room and shut the door. As soon as she was out of Leon's sight she slid down the down and began to sob. _'A silly mistake? It was more than that! He makes it sound like it was something small and insignificant. Men! Why is every man I meet so insensitive? I thought Leon was different, but obviously I was wrong. It clearly meant more to me than it did to him; I was stupid to think he'd actually care. Okay, well if he wants professional relationship, that's what he'll get."_

Leon was still stood in the lounge wondering what just happened. _'Did I do something wrong again? Say something she didn't like? I thought that's what she'd want to hear, she didn't seem like she wanted to pick up where we left off last night so I just assumed she regretted it, maybe I'm just over-analysing her reaction to my explanation and she's probably fine. Urgh, the day I understand what's going on in a woman's mind, is the day hell freezes over.'_

The next couple of days went painfully slow for Leon. Everytime he tried to talk to Claire she'd make an excuse that she was busy with work or doing some digging on the Umbrella headquarters. Leon was starting to get the impression she didn't want to talk to him, he never was one to catch on quick to a woman's emotions towards him. Monday morning finally arrived and Leon was thankful that Claire would have to start talking to him now. He saw this as an opportunity to ask what her sudden problem with him was aswell.

"So are you ready to go? Our flight for Vegas leaves in three hours and we need to be there two hours before check in. We're meeting Chris and Jill at the airport in half an hour."

"Yes I'm fully aware of that, Leon. I have flown before you know."

"Uhh…Okay…" _'Definitely feeling touchy this morning.'_

Leon may have been snubbed by Claire but he wasn't going to give up trying to be her friend that easily.

"So have you got your passport, boarding ticket and luggage? Need me to help you carry anything?"

"Just leave it, Leon! I can take care of myself, just because you're a man you think you can waltz in and take over! Men are so arrogant!"

'_Okay, where on earth did that little outburst come from? I'm not arrogant…Am i?'_

"Woah, woah, woah! What's all this about? All I did was ask if you wanted help with your luggage. You've been weird with me since I explained myself the other day, you said you understood! Is that where this is coming from? Did I say something wrong the other day because I thought I was saying what you wanted to hear? I'm not a mind-reader Claire!" Leon held his hands up defensively.

"You are so dense! Just don't talk to me Leon unless it's to do with the mission, you only offend people with your speaking then thinking later skill you seem to have perfected. You wanted a professional relationship, well here it is! Suck it up!"

Claire stormed out of her apartment leaving Leon stood in the lounge with his luggage, still no better off at knowing what had offended Claire so much either. He was about to pick up his bag when he noticed Claire had left her own case, Leon moved to pick it up too but as he did Claire barged straight back into the apartment and snatched it away from him, she turned on her heel and left the apartment again.

"And don't forget to lock my door and leave the spare key behind, you'll be moving back into your own apartment after this mission right?"

Leon felt a twinge in his stomach; he'd hoped Claire would let him keep the spare key for emergencies and because she trusted him, he had obviously burned that bridge pretty badly. As he picked up his bag and headed towards the door he decided he was going to have to make it up to Claire and get to the bottom of this problem. _'Great, now I have two missions to contend with, why is nothing ever simple? Now I remember why I avoided relationships, girls are crazy!' _Leon placed the spare key on the counter in the kitchen and quickly wrote a message on a sticky note, placing it next to the key for Claire to read when she returned home. He then turned the latch on the door to lock when it shut and followed Claire down to the taxi.

A/N – I know this wasn't a long chapter but I'm currently working on the next one and there'll be more events crammed into that =).


	9. Preparations

Thank you everyone for your reviews, I really appreciate them =). Sorry this chapter took a while again but I'm finally down to my last week of my work placement so this and my other story will have my undivided attention from next week =).

Chapter 9 – Preparations

After an awkward few hours the four friends were finally on the plane to Vegas, Chris and Jill were quietly talking between themselves on one side of the aisle and Leon and Claire were silently reading up on files about the Umbrella headquarters on the other.

"What's with those two? They've barely spoke two words to each other since we met them this morning." Chris whispered to Jill.

"Beats me, but it has nothing to do with us so keep your nose out, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah so you keep telling me…But seriously, if he's upset her…"

"CHRIS!" Jill almost yelled.

"Alright, alright! I'll try my best to keep out of it."

A few more hours passed and they finally landed in Las Vegas. As they were leaving the airport Leon caught sight of a young, brunette woman with glasses waving frantically at him from the parking area, shouting his name. He squinted against the blazing sun until he realised who it was.

"Hunnigan?"

He immediately dropped his bag and took off running towards her, skidding to a half in front of her.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in Washington? Has something happened?" Leon asked frantically.

"No, everything's running smoothly Leon, I just took some time off to help you out; I was due a vacation anyway so I thought I'd meet you and the others out here, don't worry I'll keep myself out of harm's way."

"For a moment there I thought something must have happened whilst we were on the flight." Leon answered; relief visible on his face.

Chris, Jill and Claire had wandered over to the pair by this point, clearly confused. Claire was eyeing the stranger up with a suspicious look. _"Who's this? She looks too geeky to be an agent and Leon doesn't have many friends as far as I know."_

"Oh sorry about that, this is Ingrid Hunnigan; she's my contact within the Secret service and my go-to girl when I need any information or help. She's taken some time out to assist us with rescuing Sherry. Ingrid, these are my friends from Raccoon City, Chris and Claire Redfield and Jill Valentine."

"Nice to meet you, it's an honour to be working with you." Hunnigan smiled.

Claire snorted and crossed her arms across her chest again, muttering to herself. Everyone looked at each other confused until Leon spoke again.

"Right let's get going, we're meeting my contact in a café nearby in an hour so we need to drop our stuff off at the hotel now. Are you coming with us Hunnigan?"

"I'll meet you all at the café in an hour; I have to collect the files on the mission first. See you in a bit."

With that the four agents turned to walk back towards the airport entrance, Leon and Chris went off to find a free taxi leaving Claire and Jill alone.

"What was that all about back there? Hunnigan was just being friendly."

"Urgh please! She was totally sucking up to us, 'it's an honour to be working with you'" Claire mimicked in a squeaky voice that sounded nothing remotely like Hunnigan.

Jill burst out laughing at Claire's childish ways. "Are you jealous of her, Claire?"

Claire spun around to face Jill shocked. "W-WHAT? No way! W-why would I be jealous of her?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe because Leon likes her and called her his go-to girl? Come on Claire, it's written all over your face. You can't let your emotions cloud your judgment; she's offered to help us find Sherry, not because she has to but because she wants to, I suggest you start being nice to her."

Claire sighed in defeat. "Yeah, you're right. I'll apologise when I see her next."

Just then Chris shouted over that they'd found a taxi. Claire and Jill grabbed their bags and made their way over to the car; Leon took Claire's bag from her without looking at her face and placed it in the trunk before silently making his way round to the passenger's side door and getting in. Claire half expected him to try and speak to her again and was a bit taken aback when he didn't. _"He must be upset about that whole Hunnigan thing, why does he even like her? She's so squeaky clean and nice, she was practically drooling on him…Stop it, Claire. You're being mean for no reason."_ Claire thought all this whilst getting in the opposite side of the car to Leon but in the back, this way she could look at him without him knowing.

Once they got to their hotel and got checked in they all made their way to their respective rooms all next door to each other. Chris and Jill in the first room, Claire in the middle room, then Leon in the last room. After dumping their belongings inside quickly they made their way back down to the lobby, it was a nice hotel, basic but still nice.

"We're meeting my contact at a café round the corner; he's a sound bloke before you start wondering if he's dodgy, I've known him for years."

Chris, Jill and Claire followed Leon to a nearby café, a quiet little joint, perfect for a meeting like this. As soon as they stepped through the door Leon's face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Ark! It's been too long, how've you been?"

A man of average build and dark brown hair stood up to greet Leon, the two men hugged and slapped each other on the back before taking a seat in a booth at the back of the café. Chris, Jill and Claire followed suit and each slid into the booth too.

"Guy's this is Ark Thompson, he's been a good friend of mine for years and he's the one behind getting us into you know where. Ark, this is…"

"I know who these people are Leon, especially the lovely Claire Redfield, you used to talk about them all the time after Raccoon and Chris and Jill are legends among people who know the truth behind Raccoon City. It's great to finally get to meet you."

Leon blushed at Ark's small revelation and avoided Claire's surprised gaze, quickly clearing his throat to speak.

"Right, that's enough chit chat, let's get down to business. What do we have to do and how?"

"Firstly, you need to get to the warehouse about twenty miles from here, take out the staff; there shouldn't be many there, this kinda stuff is all hush hush, then hijack the truck full of goods. From there, you drive it out into the Nevada desert along I-15 heading towards Mesquite, but don't go as far as Mesquite, only go about half way, there is always an unmarked truck waiting on the side of the highway to guide you in. Follow that and Bob's your uncle."

"Okay, so how do we plan on getting inside the base without being recognised? I'm guessing Wesker remembers what we all look like?" Chris asked.

"I've got pass cards for you with different identities on. Wesker never personally deals with something as small as food being delivered, that's left up to the grunts. If your pass card says you're Elvis Presley, then you're Elvis Presley."

"And what do we do once we're in there?" Jill asked.

"You'll find Sherry in the labs on level five; I've managed to narrow it down. The strange thing was, when I was finding out how much security there is gonna be, level five had the least amount. That puzzled me."

Claire spoke up. "Maybe it's because people never normally make it as far as level five. We'll just have to deal with whatever that place throws at us."

"There are places on each level less guarded than others so it should be a walk in the park on some of them, I've spoken to Ingrid Hunnigan and she said she's managed to procure a map of the facility, she'll guide you through."

Claire nodded. "And what about our exit?"

Ark sighed. "That's the tricky part. There's a slim chance you could get in and out of there without being discovered with all your combined skills, but if Wesker does happen to become aware of your presence, things could get hairy. He has an emergency lockdown system, only he can initiate it and abort it. If you get caught in there you're pretty much done for. I don't know of any way to override the system."

"Then we'll just have to make sure we aren't discovered then won't we?" Leon grinned.

Ark handed Leon a black duffel bag and searched around his inside jacket pocket, eventually digging out an envelope.

"Here are your uniforms and these are your pass cards. I've parked a black SUV on the ground floor of your hotel car park, that's where the guns and ammo are stashed too. I'd set off now if I were you, it's getting late and you have to be there for nine o' clock on the dot, no messing around."

"Okay…Ark, one last thing, do you know of any weaknesses Wesker has if we happen to encounter him?"

Ark was silent for a moment.

"Now don't quote me on this, but I did read in a file somewhere a while back that the reason he is so strong is not just because of the T-Virus, but because of a serum he regularly injects himself with, it's called 'PG67A/W', but there is a downside to it, overdosing on the serum can backfire and weaken the subject. Put simply, inject him with a dose of it when he doesn't need it and then attack him. It's your only chance to defeat him."

They all sat there contemplating what could happen in the next few hours for a few seconds, then Leon broke the silence.

"Okay, thanks for doing this Ark. We're gonna get going now; I'll be in touch. Keep your head down until all this blows over just to be safe."

Leon stood along with Ark and shook his hand, Chris, Jill and Claire did the same before they all said their goodbyes. As the four of them were leaving the café Ark felt the need to embarrass Leon one more time for old time's sake.

"Hey, Leon! You were right; she is as pretty as you said she was."

Leon could have dropped dead right there and then. _"Oh just you wait Ark, I'll get my own back." _He thought as he left the café. He quickly marched past Claire, Chris and Jill avoiding any eye contact. _"This just isn't my day."_


	10. Shit's Going Down

Chapter 10 – Shit's Going Down.

It was twenty to nine and the gang were all finally relieved to be almost at the rendezvous point, after a major hiccup at the warehouse they were all lucky to be alive, so much for being all "hush hush". Leon was sat in the passenger's seat and silently plotting ways to make his old friend Ark suffer for making a mistake that could have cost them their lives.

**Two hours previously…**

"Hunnigan, where are you? You were supposed to meet us at the café, anyway we're gonna have to set off for the warehouse or we won't make it on time, you'll just have to meet us there. Call me back when you get this message."

Leon sighed at his phone. "Damn voicemail… Looks like Hunnigan is just gonna have to meet us there; I can't get hold of her."

"Do we actually need her anyway?" Claire asked dryly.

"Yes Claire, we do. She's the one who's gonna guide us through that maze of a base." Leon replied in a pissed off manner, Claire was really starting to irritate him. _"Just what is her problem with Hunnigan?"_

"Right, well we better get moving, if Hunnigan doesn't turn up then we'll just have to go it alone, we're all professionals and have experience of finding our way around places without a map or guide, I'm sure we can do it again." Chris interrupted.

The four drove out to the warehouse and pulled up around the back, Ark said it would be a walk in the park but it was best to keep a low profile as much as possible, not that you would have guessed it as Chris got out the car first and started flailing about conspicuously.

"Urgh! These uniforms suck! Talk about mega wedgie!" He hissed.

The itchy, tight, navy blue fabric wasn't comfortable for any of them but unfortunately Chris; a.k.a Mr Muscles, was also having a bit of trouble fitting into his uniform.

"Suck it up big guy, you can take it off once we get in to the base." Jill soothed him.

Chris huffed and puffed a bit more before entering the back door first, followed by Jill, Claire then Leon. They manoeuvred their way around hundreds of crates stacked fifteen feet high, wondering why they hadn't encountered any staff yet before Chris suddenly stopped and raised his hand signalling the others to stop too. As he peeked around the corner of a crate he noticed six men all clad in black military gear with the Umbrella logo on the sleeve stood talking in the small office, and they were packing some heavy weapons too.

"Okay, I think we've got a problem guys. There's a group of about six Umbrella soldiers in the office and the truck is right outside it. We can either make a run for the truck and chance being pursued by them or take them on, what do you think?"

"We can't chance being chased by them; it would ruin our plans before they even get off the ground." Jill answered quickly.

"I was thinking the same as Jill." Leon replied too, Claire simply nodded in agreement.

"Well that's settled then. I should've known it wouldn't be that easy, nothing ever is." Chris sighed before turning back to face the office. "I'll run past the office drawing their fire whilst you three take them by surprise from behind."

"Be careful, Chris." Warned Jill, worry was clearly etched across her face as Chris leant down to place a soft kiss on her lips, he stroked her cheek briefly before Leon interrupted them with a cough.

"Uhh, no offence Chris but maybe I should do the running? I mean I'll probably be faster on my feet." He offered.

"Are you trying to call me fat?" Chris squared up to Leon whilst Jill and Claire snickered in the background.

"No! But you were saying about your uniform being too tight and it could restrict your movement..."

"He has a point you know." Jill stepped forward and placing a warm hand on Chris's arm.

Chris looked down at his uniform and sighed in defeat, to be honest he did look rather like an overgrown baby in an all-in-one suit ten sizes too small.

"Okay then." He mumbled.

Leon stepped around Chris and quickly took off sprinting, within seconds the sound of gunfire was deafening them. That was their cue. Jill, Chris and Claire stepped out from behind the crate to see the backs of six soldiers firing towards the lone crate Leon was hiding behind. All three opened fire on the unsuspecting soldiers watching them drop one by one until suddenly there was only two guns firing towards the men. Chris dared a glance to his right to see why Claire had stopped shooting and immediately stopped shooting himself. Claire was being held at knife point by a single soldier who'd snuck up behind them during the gun battle.

"Let her go." Chris spoke calmly, he had to look strong even if he was bricking it inside, he couldn't lose Claire; his baby sister and his only family.

The soldier's hands were visibly shaking whilst holding onto Claire, he was obviously scared. Claire saw this as an opportunity and grabbed the soldier's arm holding the knife to her neck; she twisted his wrist until she heard a snap and he dropped the knife gasping out in pain, then like a true fighter she threw him over her shoulder and he landed heavy on his head on the cold concrete floor. By this point Leon had ventured back over and was stood alongside Chris and Jill looking just as dumfounded as them.

"What?" Claire questioned their looks. "I know how to look after myself." She added before picking up her Beretta and striding past the three agents. For a civilian she sure knew how to fight. The others caught up to Claire who by this point was already in the cab of the truck; the others jumped in wordlessly and Chris started the engine, slowly pulling out of the open warehouse doors. As they were pulling out of the perimeter gates a car pulled to a stop in front of them, they all instinctively reached for their weapons when suddenly Hunnigan stepped out wearing her uniform. They all breathed a sigh of relief and placed them back in their holsters. Hunnigan came running up to the cab and climbed into the back with Jill and Claire; much to her dismay.

"Sorry about not meeting you at the café, I had some last minute details to take care of. Did I miss much?"

The four friends looked at each other and sighed.

"Long story." Answered Leon.

**Back to the present…**

"So what do you think that was all about back there?" Chris asked Leon, all the time keeping his eyes on the road ahead.

"Beats me, but it can't be good if there were no staff and just Umbrella grunts." He replied.

"Do you think they were waiting for us? Like a set up?" Claire chirped up from the back seat.

Leon spun round to face Claire, glaring at her.

"Just what exactly are you trying to say Claire? That Ark set us up? He wouldn't do that, we go way back."

"Well don't you think its kinda funny how he says it'll be a piece of cake and when we get there we're ambushed and not just by anyone, by Umbrella, Leon!" Claire fired back.

"I'm not listening anymore; I know Ark wouldn't do that… He must have just made a miscalculation, things like that happen you know!"

"Big miscalculation if you ask me!"

"Well I'm not asking you am I?"

"ALRIGHT! SHUT UP ALREADY!" Jill intervened. "You two sound like an old married couple! I don't know why you two have been at each other's throats all day but we've got bigger fish to fry so let it go and get focused on the task at hand. Sherry would hate to see you two like this."

Leon and Claire merely mumbled and both stared out of the window whilst Chris shot Jill a worried look in the rear view mirror.

"_This is gonna be a long night." _Jill thought to herself.

The rest of the drive passed by quietly until Chris finally broke the silence as they saw a black SUV come into view.

"Okay, keep it cool and no bickering, we have to look like we know what we're doing here."

As they approached the SUV it started to pull away, obviously expecting the truck to follow behind. Chris followed close behind, at first not realising where they were heading until Claire spoke up.

"Chris, do you remember Mom and Dad bringing us here once when we were on vacation?"

"Uhh no, I don't even know where we are Claire."

"We're at the Valley of Fire State Park. They brought us here not long before… Well you know." Claire drifted off.

"I don't remember, sorry Claire."

Chris had blocked out a lot of memories of their parents before their death, it was too painful to remember them; Claire on the other hand relished reminiscing about them. She was so young when they died he was surprised she remembered coming to the park at all. Beautiful shades of red rock flashed past the window as they drove through the mountainous terrain. Abruptly the car in front came to a halt and the lights turned off although no one made any attempt to leave the vehicle. It remained still in the dark for about two minutes and just as they were all starting to get a bit edgy about what was about to unfold, the rock face seemed to split in two revealing a large cavity in the floor, and after a couple of seconds a metal grate rose to the top of the hole and stopped. Chris traded looks with Leon, just what on earth were they getting themselves into. Just then a man dressed all in black got out of the car and walked to Chris's side of the cab, in turn Chris wound the window down to speak to him.

"Identification badges please?"

They all handed their badges to Chris and he gave them to the man. The man looked at each of their faces briefly then handed the badges back.

"Everything seems in order here, simply drive onto the platform Mr Jones and it will take you down into the base, have a nice evening."

The man turned on his heel and walked back to his car before driving back the way they'd came. Everybody breathed a sigh of relief before relaxing again.

Claire was the first to speak. "That was too easy."

"Yeah, tell me about it, but I get the feeling it's not gonna stay that way." Replied Leon.

Chris drove slowly onto the metal platform and waited for it to move, seconds later they were on their way down; darkness overwhelming them as they moved. When the platform stopped moving it was still pitch black around them, suddenly a crack of light appeared in front of them and slowly got wider, it looked like a cargo door was being opened. A man in overalls stepped into sight and waved them forward, as Chris edged the truck slowly towards the large room awaiting them Leon couldn't help but have a bad feeling about it all.

"And into the lion's den we go." He muttered.

A/N: Currently working on the next chapter now, sorry for the delay guys.


	11. Friend or Foe

Chapter 11 – Friend or Foe

As the cargo door shut behind them three burly men approached the cab.

"Please step out of the truck whilst we unload it."

As they all climbed out one of the staff shot Leon a puzzled look.

"Why are there so many of you? There are normally only two people."

Hunnigan interrupted before Leon could speak. "Jessica, Louise and I are new recruits; we tagged along so we could be shown the ropes." She said as she gestured to Claire and Jill beside her.

The man looked seriously at the five faces in front of him; lingering for a second more on Chris as he noticed his uniform almost bursting at the seams, before shrugging and turning away, they all silently released a breath they didn't realise they'd been holding, that was a close call. Just then another member of staff came over to them; a boy that looked like he was right out of high school with dark brown hair that hung in his eyes, and he wasn't very tall or as muscular as the previous men; he didn't really seem to fit in, they could all tell he was the nervous type when he spoke.

"Uhh… C-could you please go stand in the office over there? W-we can't allow unauthorised personnel to be on the work floor as we load and un-load t-trucks."

"Sure thing, kid." Chris spoke.

They all felt a pang of sympathy as they watched the young lad walk with his head down back over to the burly men to help unload the trucks, they could hear them teasing and taunting him as he did his job. Leon and Chris looked over from the office with anger in their eyes.

"Just who do they think they are?" Snapped Leon as he made a move to go back over to the men.

He was stopped as Claire grabbed his arm sending a warm sensation through his body, he instantly felt calmer.

"Leon, don't. We cannot under any circumstances attract attention to ourselves before we even get close to Sherry. I know you want to help everyone but we have to keep moving."

For the first time that day Claire spoke to Leon in a nice, sensitive manner like the way she did before the kiss. Leon let out a big sigh and turned back to Claire

"Yeah I guess you're right." He said as he smiled weakly at her, he was surprised when she returned the smile but much more brightly. _"God, she's beautiful… Even when she is pissed off with me."_ Just then Jill spurred him out of his thoughts.

"Look over there, there are men coming in and out of there, my guess is that's our way to the lower levels."

They all followed Jill's gaze and saw a sturdy metal door just across the work floor opposite the office, without even having to think about it they all darted from the office and hid behind a large, metal shipping container before rushing across to the next one and the next, until they eventually reached the last one. Leon was at the front and waiting for another member of staff to come through the door so he could grab it before it locked itself. Suddenly the young lad came into view and was heading towards it; Leon paused for second, thinking. _"Should I chance it? He might blow the whistle on all of us… Ah fuck it." _

"Hey kid!" He shouted.

Chris, Jill, Claire and Hunnigan all stared at each other wide eyed in shock, quickly dodging around the other side of the container to remain out of view.

"Has he lost his mind!" Hunnigan hissed.

Claire mentally noted that Hunnigan had barely spoken since she got in the truck. _"She only talks when she thinks we're gonna get busted, why does she care so much if we succeed? She's only here because she fancies the pants off of Leon… Bitch."_

"Sir, w-what are you doing on the work floor? You can't be here." The boy replied.

"I saw the way those blokes spoke to you back there, why do you put up with that?"

"I got roped into this job by my Uncle and he'd be r-really disappointed if I left… Not that I have a choice really, once y-you start work for Umbrella you never get out. Anyway there's not m-much I could do about them guys even if I had the g-guts to."

Leon sighed. This kid had no confidence and a shit job to boot. He was dangerously aware that they'd been missing from the office for ten minutes now; someone was bound to notice they were gone soon.

"Look, listen to me. I need to get inside that door over there; if I do then I can make all of this go away. If you help us, we'll help you."

The boy looked deep in thought for a moment before speaking. "Who are you guys?"

"Just some people with as big a dislike for Umbrella as you; let's leave it at that eh."

Chris, Claire, Jill and Hunnigan were all peeking around the container at Leon and the young lad speaking in hushed tones.

"Is he really trying to talk his way in?" Jill asked in disbelief.

"I knew it, it was only a matter of time before Rookie finally cracked up, I always had my suspicions about him." Chris said matter-of-factly.

"Shut up, Chris. Leon hasn't "cracked up"; he's simply trying a new, less violent tactic. I like it." Claire said.

"So he's back in your good books now?" Jill asked with a smirk.

"Don't push it, I never said that." Claire replied blushing.

The young lad remained silent for a moment staring at the floor apparently deciding what to do when he suddenly flashed his brown eyes back up to Leon's blue ones; he almost had a pleading look in them as he peered out from under his bangs.

"Okay, I'll help."

Leon smiled gratefully. "You're doing the right thing, kid."

"My name's James b-by the way. I'll let you in the door and I'd better get back to work."

Leon nodded and gave the signal that it was okay for the others to come forward, cautiously they entered the door after Leon. Only one exit was visible at the end of the narrow corridor and that was the elevator. Leon turned back to thank James but he was nowhere to be found, he brushed it off and followed the others to the elevator. Luckily there was no one else using the elevator so they had free reign to pick any floor.

"Which floor?" Asked Claire.

Hunnigan chirped up from the back of the elevator. "You need the serum remember? If you encounter Wesker that'll be your only chance to beat him."

"She's right, it's better to be safe than sorry. Do you know which floor it'll be on Hunnigan?" Replied Leon.

"By my calculations it should be on the fourth floor, that's where all of the viral manufacturing takes place, it'll be crawling with researchers though; you'll need another disguise. I've searched the facility's layout and there's a locker room on the second floor, we should be able to acquire some lab coats there."

Leon nodded and looked at Claire. "Second floor it is then."

The elevator hummed to life and began its descent.

Leon turned to face his friends and spoke. "Alright guys, Ark said there may be more security on the higher floors than the lower so keep your guard up and try to stay as inconspicuous as possible, the last thing we need is an army of Umbrella grunts raining down on our asses too."

Everybody agreed and prepared themselves for the doors to open; when they did they were greeted with an eerie silence.

"So where are all the guards? Has Ark made yet another mistake?" Claire whispered to Leon from behind, she saw him tense up as soon as she'd mentioned Ark's name.

"Now is not the time to be having digs, Claire." Scolded Jill.

Claire shot Jill a sheepish look and carried on silently. As they passed conference room windows and sparkling white labs they didn't see one person, everything seemed to be in order though; there was no sign of a scuffle.

"There it is." Said Hunnigan pointing to a door, her voice seemed too loud in the empty hallways.

"Locker room." Leon said aloud. "Okay guys. Let's go."

They made their way over to the door and Leon entered first, giving the room a quick once over before letting the others know it was safe to enter. As they walked in Hunnigan headed straight for the women's bathroom.

"I'll just be a moment, nature calls." She smiled sheepishly.

Claire sighed and rolled her eyes whilst mumbling under her breath and searching through lab coats to find one in her size.

"You could give her a chance you know? She's a good person and she's helping us out, I don't see what your problem is with her." Leon spoke irritated.

Claire stopped searching and turned around to face Leon. "I just don't trust her." She retorted.

Before Leon could reply the door was kicked open and three Umbrella soldiers ran into the room and began spraying bullets everywhere. Instantly Leon grabbed Claire and dived behind a row of lockers dragging her with him. Jill and Chris ducked behind another row and began returning fire. As soon as the three soldiers slumped to the floor; each with a neat hole through their heads, they heard footsteps thumping down the corridor.

"We have to get out of here now; we're cornered if we don't." Said Chris.

"But what about Hunnigan?" Said Leon panicking as Chris grabbed him by the arm and began hauling him out of the room.

"I'm sorry, Leon but we don't have time to wait for her and we have to go now!" Shouted Jill as she grabbed his other arm to help Chris stop him thrashing about.

Leon looked torn. _"She can't fend for herself and she's my friend! But do I risk my own life and the others to save her when our main objective is Sherry? Hopefully they won't search that room and she'll be able to escape." _Thoughts raced through his head as Chris was manhandling him down a different route from the way they came; away from the locker room and the approaching soldiers. There was another elevator at the end of the hallway, Claire was already waiting inside as Chris and Jill hurled Leon inside.

"Fourth floor, Claire! We have no time to waste!" Yelled Chris.

"Where did they suddenly come from?" Claire said breathlessly.

"I don't know, but something certainly smells fishy about this. It's like they knew where to ambush us." Chris replied.

Jill gave Chris a worried look as they glanced at a fragile looking Leon still sat on the floor staring into space. _"I've never left a stranger behind before let alone a friend." _Leon thought. He was brought back to reality by Chris snapping his fingers in front of his face and Jill kneeling down beside him.

"Leon, I know this isn't what you want to hear right now but it's looking more and more like someone is setting us up. Do you really have no doubts about Ark at all? He hasn't got any of his information right up to now… And about Hunnigan, I'm really sorry. But she could have escaped unharmed, they were after us and they may have missed her." Jill spoke softly almost as if raised her voice Leon would crack.

"I didn't want to think that Ark would do such a thing but now I don't know; this is all so fucked up. Hunnigan… I let her down." Leon sighed, ran a hand through his messy blonde hair and stood up again; taking a deep breath he recomposed himself. The strong looking Leon with stoic expression was back again.

"I'm gonna find her after we've rescued Sherry, she's never let me down and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let her down."


End file.
